Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Workforce Inc, Staffing Agency Unpaid Training Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A worker started a class action lawsuit against Workforce Inc. and SOS (Sudbury) Inc.
- Why: The plaintiff claims the staffing agencies failed to compensate workers for training they were required to complete upon being hired for jobs and owes them back pay amounting to $10 million.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Workforce Inc and SOS Inc, two Sudbury-area staffing agencies, fail to legally compensate workers by requiring them to complete training without pay, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
An anonymous worker claims Workforce Inc and SOS (Sudbury) Inc violate the Ontario Employment Standards Act by failing to reimburse for training hours and sometimes requiring employees to cover associated costs out of their own pocket.
The plaintiff wants to represent a nationwide Class of Workforce and SOS employees owed wages stemming from unpaid training hours while working for the companies since 2012.
“Class Members were employees of the Defendants at the time they completed their training and are therefore entitled to damages for unpaid wages in accordance with the Employment Standards Act, or similar legislation,” states the class action lawsuit.
Workforce, SOS Forced Workers Into Unpaid Training, Says $10M Class Action
The plaintiff says he worked with Workforce and SOS between June 2012 and October 2019 in various positions including as a laborer, confined space rescue technician, and a confined space attendant.
Upon being hired for a job, plaintiff claims he was required to complete a list of training objectives, which could include attending a class or completing a training module.
“Employees would not have been able to work a shift with the Defendants if they did not have the appropriate certifications or a complete training record,” states the class action lawsuit.
Plaintiff claims he was not given a choice of when he could complete his training or who he would complete his training with. Nor was he ever reimbursed for his time, adding he often had to pay for the training himself.
The training plaintiff had to complete, according to Workforce and SOS, ranged from first aid training to specialized confined space training associated with work in underground mines, according to the class action lawsuit.
Plaintiff claims the staffing agencies told him they were not required to pay him for the time he spent training, which he says he believed.
Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting relief in the form of aggregate, exemplary, and punitive damages for himself and all Class Members.
A similar class action lawsuit resulted in a $1 million settlement agreement last month between Cineflix and two media unions representing workers who alleged the production company failed to provide proper overtime, vacation, and holiday pay.
Meanwhile, Amazon faces a pair of class actions from Canadian delivery drivers who say the company is misclassifying them as independent contractors, shorting them important employee benefits.
Were you not compensated or forced to pay out of pocket for training while working for SOS or Workforce? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Andrew Monkhouse, Alexandra Monkhouse, and Alexandra Cutler of Monkhouse Law.
The Workforce, SOS Staffing Agency Unpaid Training Class Action Lawsuit is Redacted v. Workforce Inc., et al., Case No. CV-21-00669432-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
4 thoughts onWorkforce Inc, Other Staffing Agency Failed To Pay for Training, Says $10M Class Action
I was woth workforce in the early 2000’s and we were required to come in on the weekends wothout pay to complete the training.
I was not paid for my time in training,April 2022!
I am signed up with one of the said companies, and haven’t started work yet….but had to attend a required course, and do numerous online courses that took weeks because of slow servers. I havent been reimbursed for any of it to date, but I’m not sure if this counts as paid training…ad I haven’t started work yet…as the requirements are the long online courses I have to complete to be eligible. Are there compensations for the long hours of online and in class training that ate pre-requisites for the coming job?
This has been happening to me at levert which is the same as workforce and I did vale training for workforce and never got paid, this is been for the last 2 and a half years. How do we go about this?!